Friday, August 18, 2017

Security In Iraq Aug 1-7, 2017

Since the end of the Mosul battle in July, violence in Iraq
has remained at a very low level. Both security incidents and casualties have
been at record lows as a result.

During the first week of August there were only 80
incidents. Ninewa had the most incidents with 25. That was followed by 22 in
Baghdad, 15 in Diyala, 5 each in Anbar and Salahaddin, 4 in Kirkuk, and 2 each
in Babil and Basra.

Security
Incidents In Iraq By Province Aug 1-7, 2017

Ninewa 25

Baghdad 22

Diyala 15

Anbar 5

Salahaddin 5

Kirkuk 4

Babil 2

Basra 2

Salahaddin had the most casualties with 116. After that
there were 81 in Ninewa, 51 in Anbar, 38 in Baghdad, 26 in Diyala, 10 in Kirkuk
and 9 in Babil. That led to a total of 143 killed and 188 wounded for the week.
6 Hashd al-Shaabi, 6 Peshmerga, 23 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF),
and 108 civilians lost their lives, while 5 Peshmerga, 7 Hashd, 123 ISF, and
153 civilians were injured.

Casualties
In Iraq By Province June 2017

Salahaddin 116 (3 Dead, 113 Wounded)

Ninewa 81 (67 Dead, 14 Wounded)

Anbar 51 (45 Dead, 6 Wounded)

Baghdad 38 (12 Dead, 26 Wounded)

Diyala 26 (10 Dead, 16 Wounded)

Kirkuk 10 (5 Dead, 5 Wounded)

Babil 9 (1 Dead, 8 Wounded)

There were very few incidents in Anbar, but high casualties.
That was due to 40 bodies being found
in a mass grave in Ramadi. This was a leftover from when the Islamic State
ruled the city. Otherwise there was just two shootings, 2 IEDs, and a Coalition
air strike that hit civilians. An American security firm arrived in the province
to secure the international highway to Jordan. The company was probably doing
scouting and preparing for logistics before it started the job.

The biggest news from Anbar was that Sayid al-Shuhada of the
Hashd claimed they were attacked by the U.S. led Coalition. The group made that
accusation on August
7 saying they were operating along the Iraqi-Syrian border when they were
hit by aircraft. They later changed that to artillery.
It demanded that Baghdad investigate the matter. At the same time, an Islamic
State statement
said it launched a suicide bombing near the Tanaf crossing on the Syrian side
of the border against the Hashd. The Americans immediately denied
the story, and were supported by Prime Minister Haider Abadi,
the Joint
Operations Command, and the Hashd media
office. According to the latter two the incidents did not occur in Iraq,
but rather another country meaning Syria. Iraq Newspaper reported
that the unit had actually crossed over into Syria without telling Baghdad when
they were struck suffering 45 dead and 35 wounded. A senior commander in Sayid
Shuhada told Al
Mada that it was actually a unit from the group operating in Syria not part
of the Hashd that was struck. What likely happened was that Sayid Shuhada suffered
heavy casualties at the hands of IS and blamed it on the Americans instead.
This was the second time the group made this type of accusation, and neither
time was it proven true. This was part of the pro-Iranian factions’ propaganda
campaign to associate the U.S. with the Islamic State.

Northern Babil continued to be targeted by IS. There were
two IEDs in Jurf al-Sakhr and a shooting in Hillah. Jurf al-Sakhr was emptied
of people by the Iraqi forces. Over the last two months however, the militants
have been re-infiltrating the area to lay explosives and conduct small ambushes.

Baghdad has been witnessing some of the best security in
years. There were just 22 incidents leading to 12 dead and 26 wounded. One
suicide bomber was killed,
while the most common form of attack was 10 IEDs. As usual, most incidents
occurred in the south, 9, with 5 in the north and west each, and 2 in the east.
The Islamic State was never quite cleared out of the outer villages surrounding
the capital, and is still using them as the base for its operations within the
city. The Baghdad Operations Command also created
a special office for the Hashd in an attempt to subordinate them to the ISF. This
was an important step because some Hashd factions have demanded that they take
responsibility for security in the province since it would give them great
prestige and power. The Iraqi forces want to make sure that they remain in
charge, which was what led to this move.

Besides the constant tribal clashes there was more low level
political violence in Basra. The house of an investigator was shot
at and a sound
bomb set off at the office of the Jund al-Imam, which is part of the Hashd.
Most of the security forces from Basra were sent north to fight the Islamic
State. That has left the governorate open to constant fighting by tribes,
criminal activity, and for various political factions to attack one another.

Diyala is the main area where the Islamic State is attempting
to re-build. Most incidents were IEDs, but the organization also set off a
motorcycle bomb, and fired mortars four times. Its target favorite target
during the week were power pylons, which were struck four times. Almost all the
attacks were in the center and northern sections of the province in places like
the Abu Saida, Muqtadiya, and Khanaqin districts. The security forces have been
conducting sweeps nearly every other week in Diyala, but they have not been
able to stop the increase in operations by the insurgents.

Security in Kirkuk remained stable. There were just four
incidents, two shootings and two IEDs. Three of those targeted the Peshmerga
resulting in 5 dead and 5 wounded. IS still controls the southern Hawija
district in the governorate, but has mostly been using it to send out cells to
other areas rather than conduct attacks within Kirkuk itself.

Insurgents are still operating throughout Ninewa after their
defeat in Mosul. There were incidents nearly every day in Mosul, including a suicide
bomber blowing up a building being used as a headquarters by the Golden
Division. Qayara in the southeast was another favorite target. ISF units were
being pulled from Mosul to prepare for the upcoming Tal Afar operation. The
Federal Police were taking
their place. IS was said to be herding people
from the Tal Afar district into the town itself to be used as human shields, a
tactic they employed during the Mosul campaign. Finally, a policeman was suspected
to have been killed by the Imam Ali Brigade in Qayara. The police accused the Hashd
unit of smuggling oil, and closed a nearby bridge to try to stop them. That led
to an argument, and then the policeman’s body was later found. This was just
the latest example of criminality by the Hashd in the province.

The militants launched a large operation
in Salahaddin. In the Shirqat district, which the insurgents still partly
control, IS shot down a helicopter, attacked three villages, and cut off the
Baghdad-Mosul road for a time. The fighting lasted for a day before the Islamic
State was driven off. IS is launching more of these large assaults each month
in the province. Usually they are mass casualty bombings, but this incident
showed a new level of boldness.

Finally, the low-level rivalry between the Iranian backed
Hashd and the prime minister continued. Kataib Hezbollah claimed
it blocked the Americans’ attempt to control the Iraq-Syrian border. It went on
to say that the U.S. was trying to run Iraq, but that the Islamic resistance
had stopped it. During the Ninewa campaign the Hashd stated that it would
secure the length of the Iraq’s western border. In fact, it seized
only about 25% in Ninewa and Anbar before stopping. Badr’s Hadi Amiri blamed
Abadi for the halt, but it appeared that the Hashd lacked the manpower and
logistics to take on the task. The Tehran backed forces not only want to clear
the border, but to use it to ship men and material from Iran through Iraq to
Syria to support the Assad government. There are many Hashd units that would
also like to cross over into Syria. This already happened with the Sayid
Shuhada incident. There was also a report that Kataib Hezbollah sent some men
into Syria as well. This occurred despite the premier banning cross border
operations. These were signs that these groups were testing Baghdad to see what
they could get away with.

Security
In Iraq 2017

Week

Security

Incidents

Dead

Wounded

Jan 1-7

188

509

1,346

Jan 8-14

168

371

1,036

Jan 15-21

137

585

1,262

Jan 22-28

145

289

310

Jan 29-31

74

127

338

JAN

712

1,881

4,292

Feb 1-7

123

388

176

Feb 8-14

164

434

390

Feb 15-21

148

393

508

Feb 22-28

185

647 + 399

1,390 +
1,634

FEB

620

1,862 + 399

2,464 + 1,634

Mar 1-7

179

749

622

Mar 8-14

171

551

614

Mar 15-21

143

571

1,166

Mar 22-28

152

1,233

575

Mar 29-31

71

374 + 278

288 +
2,925

MAR

716

3,478 + 278

3,265 + 2,925

Apr 1-7

174

903

487

Apr 8-14

126

599

669

Apr 15-21

108

479

449

Apr 22-28

122

698

328

Apr 29-30

39

138

51

APR

569

2,817

1,984

May 1-7

106

405

468

May 8-14

109

601

386

May 15-21

132

363

224

May 22-28

106

433

150

May 29-31

69

214

236

MAY

522

2,016

1,464

Jun 1-7

136

1,403

487

Jun 8-14

127

658

174

Jun 15-21

114

480

101

Jun 22-28

119

340

246

Jun 29-30

37

349

127

JUN

533

3,230

1,135

JAN-JUN

3,669

15,262 +

677

14,497 +

4,559

Jul 1-7

141

798

331

Jul 8-14

105

298

86

Jul 15-21

87

124

72

Jul 22-28

107

189

122

Jul 29-31

37

50

25

JUL

477

1,459

636

Aug 1 -7

80

143

188

Violence By
Province Aug 1-7, 2017

Province

Violence

Anbar

6
Incidents

78 Killed: 33
Hashd, 45 Civilians

6 Wounded: 6
Civilians

3 Shootings

2 IEDs

Babil

2
Incidents

1 Killed: 1 Hashd

8 Wounded: 1
Civilian, 2 ISF, 5 Hashd

1 Shooting

2 IEDs

Baghdad

22
Incidents

12 Killed: 6
Civilians, 6 ISF

26 Wounded: 4 ISF,
22 Civilians

7 Shootings

10 IEDs

1 Sticky Bomb

1 Suicide Bomber Killed

Basra

2
Incidents

1 Shooting

1 Sound Bomb

Diyala

15
Incidents

10 Killed: 1 Hashd,
1 Peshmerga, 3 Civilians, 5 ISF

16 Wounded: 1 Hashd,
7 ISF, 8 Civilians

10 IEDs

1 Motorcycle Bomb

4 Mortars

Kirkuk

4
Incidents

5 Killed: 5
Peshmerga

5 Wounded: 5
Peshmerga

2 Shootings

2 IEDs

Ninewa

25
Incidents

67 Killed: 1 Hashd,
12 ISF, 54 Civilians

14 Wounded: 1 Hashd,
3 Civilians, 10 ISF

19 Shootings

3 IEDs

1 Suicide Bomber

1 Suicide Bomber Killed

Salahaddin

5
Incidents

3 Killed: 3 Hashd

113
Wounded:
113 Civilians

5 Shootings

SOURCES

Al Aalem, “Member of
Yazidi Genocide Committee accuses them of condoning the burning of three mass
graves in Sinjar,” 8/3/17

AIN, “Opening a
section for the popular crowd in the Baghdad Operations,” 8/1/17

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About Me

Musings On Iraq was started in 2008 to explain the political, economic, security and cultural situation in Iraq via original articles and interviews. If you wish to contact me personally my email is: motown67@aol.com